New York Life posts robust sales in Q2

By National Underwriter

National Underwriter

By Warren S. Hersch

New York Life recorded robust sales of life insurance, income annuities and mutual funds in the second quarter of 2013, the company announced on Wednesday.

The mutual insurance company enjoyed an 18 percent rise in individual recurring premium life insurance sales through agents compared with the first half of 2012. The company attributes the revenue gains to “solid sales growth” of recurring life insurance products from the company’s whole life, universal life and variable universal life products.”

New York Life also notes the number of life insurance policies sold through agents rose 4 percent in the second quarter.

The company also credits 46 percent of new policies sold to agents serving cultural markets. Among them: the African-American, Chinese, Hispanic, Korean, South Asian, and Vietnamese communities in the U.S.

“New York Life remains the leader in sales of fixed immediate annuities, with 32 percent of the market for the first quarter of 2013, and is the leader in sales of deferred income annuities, with 46 percent of the market for the first quarter of 2013,” New York Life states in its release. “The company’s sales of these guaranteed income annuity products, which includes single premium immediate annuities and the company’s deferred income annuity, Guaranteed Future Income Annuity, increased 13 percent in the first half over the same time period in 2012.”

The company also disclosed these results:

An 8 percent year-over-year increase in sales through New York Life Direct, a unit that includes the insurer’s AARP operation, the exclusive provider of life insurance and lifetime income annuities to the AARP’s 37 million members.

A 41 percent increase in sales of New York Life’s MainStay family of mutual funds, with sales rising to $13.69 billion through the second quarter compared to the first half of 2012.

A 13 percent year-over-years sales increase in New York Life’s operations in Mexico, which operates under the name Seguros Monterrey New York Life.